Friday 9 September 2016 05.59 EDT
First published on Friday 9 September 2016 05.30 EDT

Drug overdoses hit record levels in England and Wales last year, official figures have revealed, sparking fierce criticism of the government’s approach to drugs and addiction services.

Deaths involving poisoning by opiates, cocaine and amphetamines, including MDMA, have all reached peak levels, according to a count of coroners’ rulings recorded in 2015. Similar data has been collected by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) since 1993.

The rise in deaths comes as the number of people using illegal drugs has dropped to a historic low, according to recent crime survey data. Critics say zero-tolerance drugs policies and cuts to addiction services have exacerbated the problem.

A record 3,674 drug poisoning deaths involving both legal and illegal substances were registered in 2015. Of these, 2,479 involved illegal drugs only – a 10% rise on a year earlier. Overall, the death rate from drug misuse in England and Wales was the highest ever recorded, at 43.8 deaths per million people.

According to the ONS, heroin-related poisonings have more than doubled from 579 deaths in 2012 to 1,201 in 2015. Deaths from cocaine rose for the fourth year in a row and have increased from 112 in 2011 to 320 in 2015. Amphetamine-related deaths, including MDMA poisonings, have risen from 56 in 2010 to 157 in 2015.

People aged 30 to 39 were most likely to die from drug misuse, at a rate of 98.4 deaths per million, followed by those aged 40 to 49, at 95.1. Regionally, the worst rate of drug deaths was in north-east England..

Vanessa Fearn, a researcher at the ONS, said the rise in deaths could be partly attributed to a rise in the purity of heroin, following a shortage of the drug that affected global exports in 2011. “Age is also a factor in the record levels of drug deaths as heroin users are getting older and they often have conditions such as lung disease and hepatitis that make them particularly vulnerable,” she said.

In a report published to coincide with the data release, an expert group convened by Public Health England and the Local Government Association called for an overhaul of drug treatment. It said a more coordinated approach was needed to address health inequalities, improve access to mental and physical healthcare, and offer help with work and housing.

Ian Hamilton, who researches drug treatment at the University of York, said he was disappointed that the report had failed to consider drug consumption rooms. “The evidence is there to support them, from across Europe and the rest of the world,” he said.

“The UK government is really just dragging its feet and keeps asking for more evidence, when the evidence is there that they reduce overdoses, they engage a hard to reach group into not just health agencies, but a range of other agencies, like homeless services [and] social services.”

Drug addiction services have been a victim of austerity cuts, with responsibility devolved in 2013 from the NHS to local authorities, which are not legally mandated to provide any at all. The LGA said a 9% cut to local authority health budgets over the next four years could seriously undermine drug treatment.

She said: “The rise in deaths shows the most vulnerable users continue to be stigmatised and pushed to the margins of society, rather than being engaged with the treatment services they need. The decriminalisation of drug use could greatly help to break down these barriers, increase treatment take-up and save lives.”

Transform Drugs Policy Foundation said Theresa May should take responsibility for decisions taken in her former role as home secretary. The Home Office sets the overall drug enforcement strategy.

“We all want to keep our communities safe and any of us could be affected by drugs,” said Martin Powell, head of campaigns at Transform. “But the Home Office – under Theresa May’s watch – is responsible for the highest number of drug deaths ever recorded. That the prime minister keeps claiming her drug policy is working should send a chill down the spine of every parent and reasonable person in the country.”

Niamh Eastwood, the executive director of Release, criticised what she described as an ideologically driven “abstinence” agenda that had led to an increasing number of people forced to reduce opioid substitution therapy prescriptions or who had had them removed altogether.

“This goes against all the evidence for best practice in drug treatment and is contributing, we believe, to this shameful rise in deaths. Such a hostile environment means people simply don’t want to access treatment,” she said.

A Department of Health spokesperson said: “Any death related to misuse of drugs is a tragedy. While overall drug use continues to decline, our approach is to get people off drugs for good, with decisions on treatment based on an individual’s clinical need.”